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Monthly Archives: July 2013

I feel like all I do is sew for my girls. There are so many cute girly patterns out there but boy clothes are pretty basic. To make it interesting, I decided to let my husband pick out a few fabrics for Calder. He chose a couple of Star Wars prints and I choose the Create Kids Couture Ethan’s Cargo Shorts pattern.

Then, I found a Spiderman remnant at Hobby Lobby that was just enough for a second pair of shorts. The pattern is easy to follow and simple to make. By the time I got to the second pair, it only took me about an hour to complete them. I will probably make a few more before school starts back next month.

These turned out to be his favorite.
Luckily, he already had the perfect shirt to match.

We just returned from a trip to Alabama to visit family and friends (which explains my lack of posts recently). A few days before we left, I decided to make a quick gift for some friends who recently had a baby boy. I originally wanted to make a Jon Jon but since I was limited in time and supplies, I decided I needed another idea. I found this cute little tutorial and pattern for baby shoes and decided I would make a couple of pairs. I grabbed my new Robert Kaufman Out N’ About Cameras fabric and a large scrap of my striped fabric leftover from my Big Boy Pocket Pants. Unfortunately, my first attempt was a failure. I think I must have made a mistake cutting the fabric. Luckily, my second pair turned out just fine!

A single pair of shoes just didn’t seem like enough, so I decided to make a couple of matching bibs to go with them. I didn’t have a pattern for a bib but I thought I could draft one based on an old bib I found packed away in a kitchen drawer.

To make the pattern, I taped a few pieces of card stock together and traced around the bib. I squared off the bottom to make it more a little more boyish.

After adding the seam allowance, I realized the straps weren’t quite even, so I folded the pattern in half and cut both sides at the same time to make sure they were mirror images of each other. In hind sight, I suppose I could have created a half pattern to be cut on a fold instead.

Here is the finished pattern.

I then cut out my front and back pieces, sewed them along the edges (right sides together) leaving a two inch opening. Using my opening, I turned the bibs right side out and closed the opening after pressing the edges inwards.

Since I didn’t have any flannel or minky in my stash, I used brown knit for the underside.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the KnottyGirl Boho Bag. It is a fun pattern with three size options and large interior pockets. I hadn’t made a bag yet so I decided to try it out. Instead of the one bag I originally planned to make, I made three! It’s very addictive! I had a lot of fun mixing and matching fabrics and adding little decorative touches.

I was a little disappointed that the mini size doesn’t have a pocket option. But after making three, I don’t think it should be too hard to do it on your own. Maybe the next time!

Maya’s mini bag has a tiger theme. Maya is going on her second year of a serious tiger obsession.

I wanted it to have a little feminine touch too so I added the yellow trim and little hearts for the pocket binding.

My favorite part of her bag is actually the inside. I love how the colors really pop.

Naomi’s purse is all pink and fancy. She loves anything girly.

I added the pink flower trim just to make sure it was fru fru enough since I had originally planned it to be my purse and not quite so “fancy.”

The inside of her purse is a bit softer in color.

My purse is girly too. It is more floral then something I would normally carry but I still think it’s pretty. I have noticed my fabric taste is a bit more feminine then I would normally choose in store bought items. I particularly love the main body fabric and thought it would make a great bag.

Since I already had some blue lace trim, I just couldn’t help myself.

And I LOVE all the gigantic pockets on the inside!

I used a ton of different fabrics in these bags. I counted 18 total so I decided not to list them in this post. If you see one you love and have to know what it is, feel free to ask in the comments and I will respond as soon as I can.

I did it! I made a swimsuit. Well actually, I made two. I am not sure I would have even attempted to sew up a swimsuit if it wasn’t for the CKC Sew-along Facebook group. I was hesitant at first when June’s pattern was announced but the fact that it had the same name as my daughter felt like a sign. So I took a chance and bought Create Kids Couture’s Naomi pattern. Luckily, finding cute swimsuit fabric wasn’t difficult since Chez Ami was kind enough to give a discount to the sew-along group. There were lots of great fabrics to choose from, so the girls and I sat down at the computer and we picked two favorites. As usual, Naomi chose pink and Maya, blue.

I really enjoy the sew-alongs. Not only do I get several chances to win prizes but I learn a lot in the process. If you have a question, there are dozens of people making the same pattern at the same time there to help you. The perfect situation to try something new! Honestly, the hardest part about the whole process was cutting the fabric. It was really slippery and because it stretched four directions, it was hard to cut a straight line. I was glad to have chosen linear patterns to use as my guides. I took it slow and it worked out in the end. There were a lot of rectangles involved so I had to label all the pieces to keep from getting confused.